Australia

Sydney Town Hall

The iconic Sydney Town Hall is a heritage listed 1860’s High Victorian style building, containing three halls, being the Vestibule, the Main Hall and the Lower Town Hall, in addition to administration areas, including the Mayor’s office. The halls are used for events staged by the City of Sydney Council and are also hired out for special functions and festival events.

Holmes Fire lead a design team including architects, heritage consultants, the NSW Fire Brigades, fire service contractors and The City of Sydney, to formulate a Fire Safety Upgrade Strategy that would achieve the fire safety objectives without altering or destroying the building’s unique heritage fabric and artefacts. Throughout the project, Holmes Fire’s role enabled the client to significantly improve the level of fire and life safety and property protection for the refurbished heritage building. Due to the existing and heritage fabric of the structure, full compliance with the Building Code of Australia was not technically achievable in many instances, however the upgrade solutions were developed to meet mutually agreed acceptance criteria, which gave consideration to the Performance Requirements of the Building Code of Australia. The upgrade strategy also allowed the continued partial occupation of the building throughout the process and construction works.

Summary

Awards

Testimonial

“It’s hard for politicians to spend money on things you can’t see. But that was our aim. Services wherever possible have been concealed, and I defy you to spot the sprinkler heads in the decorated ceilings and arches of the public areas.”